The slugfest between Gautam Deb and Trinamool Congress leaders may continue but the CPI(M) workers feel the allegations have come much too late. Bibhas Bhattacharyya reports.

The slugfest between Gautam Deb and Trinamool Congress leaders may continue but the CPI(M) workers feel the allegations have come much too late. With the CPI(M) having completed its quota of wall writing, workers regret that they will out on the opportunity of cashing in on the tirade.

Grassroots-level CPI(M) workers have been left hoping that had Deb raised the allegations earlier, they could have been the key issues in wall graffiti, an area the CPI(M) has mastered over the years. “These allegations could have been raised much earlier before we started our wall writing,” said a CPI(M) worker of Hooghly.

According to Santoshri Chatterjee, Hooghly district CPI(M) leader and former MP of Serampore Lok Sabha constituency, while it is true that lakhs of people watched the press meet where Deb raised such allegations, it could have reached to a greater audience had we got the chance to portray them in wall graffiti.

“There are other avenues such as street corner and public meetings and we will make all possible attempts to use these avenues to showcase the allegations raised by Deb,” Chatterjee said.

Wall graffiti has always been a popular Leftist medium of campaign. For instance, when the Bofors scam rocked the entire nation, the CPI(M)used several such graffiti portraying the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as the brain behind the scam.

Mamata Banerjee, too , from time to time, has been a favourite subject of wall graffiti.

According to CPI(M) central committee member Mohammad Salim, the party unveiled financial irregularities when it had evidence. “Wall campaigning is not the only way to canvass the vote. We will project it in the public meetings,” he said.

Sridip Bhattacharya, CPI(M) state committee member, feels there is still time to portray Deb’s allegations in wall campaigns.

“The first phase of election is going to be held only in 54 constituencies and there is enough time to preach this before the entire election in Bengal is completed. So if our party workers want to preach it through graffiti they can do that,” he said.